UWIG Update

December 2007

In this issue

• November/December issue of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine revisits wind integration
• Wind Interconnection Workshop to be Offered in January 2008
• Dates, Location Announced for Spring 2008 Meeting - Dates Announced for Fall 2008 Meeting
• UWIG Implements Industry Events Calendar on Web Site

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UWIG News and Notes

UWIG Leads Industry Examination of Wind Integration

The Utility Wind Integration Group (UWIG) played a pivotal role in coordinating the update of a key electric power industry publication providing an extensive overview of integrating wind into utility power systems. The November/December 2007 issue of the IEEE Power Engineering Society’s Power & Energy Magazine provides an update of many of the topics addressed in the November/December 2005 issue, regarded by many as a seminal reference on the topic of integrating wind into electric power systems.

UWIG executive director Charlie Smith, along with Brian Parsons of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, served as guest editors for the issue. They also performed this role for the previous issue. The magazine, which has the title "Wind Integration: Driving Technology, Policy, and Economics," features the following articles:

What Does 20% Look Like – A guest editorial by Charlie Smith and Brian Parsons

To Capture the Wind – Robert Thresher, NREL; Michael Robinson, NREL; and Paul Veers, Sandia National Laboratories

Queuing Up – Robert Zavadil, EnerNex Corporation; Nicholas Miller, GE Energy; Abraham Ellis, Public Service New Mexico; Eduard Muljadi, NREL; Ernst Camm, S&C Electric; and Brendan Kirby, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Accommodating Wind’s Natural Behavior – Edgar A. DeMeo, Renewable Energy Consulting Services; Gary A. Jordan, GE Energy; Clint Kalich, Avista Utilities; Jack King, EnerNex Corporation; Michael R. Milligan, NREL; Cliff Murley, Sacramento Municipal Utility District; Brett Oakleaf, Xcel Energy; and Matthew J. Schuerger, Energy Systems Consulting Services

What Comes First – Richard Piwko, GE Energy; Robert DeMello, New York ISO; Robert Gramlich, American Wind Energy Association; Warren Lasher, Electric Reliability Council of Texas; Dale Osborn, Midwest Independent System Operator; Carl Dombek, Midwest Independent System Operator; and Kevin Porter, Exeter Associates

Predicting the Wind – Bernhard Ernst, RWE; Brett Oakleaf, Xcel Energy; Mark L. Ahlstrom, WindLogics; Matthias Lange, Energy & Meteo Systems; Corinna Moehrlen, German and Danish Weather & Wind Energy Prognosis; Bernhard Lange, ISET; Ulrich Focken, Energy & Meteo Systems and Kurt Rohrig, ISET

European Balancing Act – Thomas Ackermann, Energynautics; Juan Rivier Abbad, Universidad Pontificia Comillas; Ivan M. Dudurych, EirGrid; Istvan Erlich, University of Duisburg-Essen; Hannele Holtinnen, VTT Technical Research Centre; Jesper Runge Kristoffersen, Vattenfall Research & Development; and Poul Ejnar Sørensen, Risø National Laboratory

For more information, please visit http://www.uwig.org/2007pandeissue.htm. UWIG has ordered a number of copies of the issue and will make them available to attendees of all 2008 UWIG meetings. Electronic versions of the articles are available for download to employees of UWIG member organizations in the members area of the UWIG web site (login required). For more information, please send e-mail to Sandy Smith (sandy@uwig.org).

NRECA, APPA, AWEA, UWIG, WAPA, DOE to Offer Wind Interconnection Workshop

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, American Public Power Association, American Wind Energy Association, UWIG, Western Area Power Administration, and DOE’s Wind Powering America Program are presenting a wind interconnection workshop January 23-25, 2008 at the Western Area Power Administration’s Electric Power Training Center in Golden, CO.

This workshop will focus on the interconnection of wind turbines to electric cooperative and public power distribution systems as well as other distributed generation (DG) applications. The workshop will begin with an overview of wind energy, distributed wind applications, economics, and development issues and opportunities. Following the overview, participants will use tools developed by UWIG to assess the impact of wind generation on distribution systems. Training will include an introduction to the theory behind the use of each applet and practical examples of their use using actual cooperative feeder data.

Additionally, WAPA’s Electric Power Training Center (EPTC) instructors will discuss North American Electric Reliability Corporation and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulations pertaining to wind energy and offer tours of the center. Participants will have the opportunity to operate the EPTC’s hands-on miniature power system, which includes a Wind Farm Simulator developed in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Wind Powering America Program. There will also be an optional tour on January 25 of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s National Wind Technology Center.

Workshop registration is $300 and is limited to the first 30 registrants. For more information, and to register, go to http://windworkshop.govtools.us/.  More information is available by contacting Bob Putnam of CH2M Hill, at 315-751-2638 or rputnam@ch2m.com.

Date, Location Set for 2008 Spring Meeting - Date Set for 2008 Fall Meeting

UWIG will hold the Spring Technical Workshop and Annual Meeting April 16-18, 2008 at the Hilton Fort Worth in Fort Worth, Texas. UWIG is returning to a schedule of two technical workshops per year, with the fall workshop to be held in the Denver area October 1-3. More information about the location for the fall meeting will be released as it is finalized.

Industry Events Calendar Implemented on UWIG Web Site

To continue to establish the UWIG web site as a key information resource for the electric power and wind generation industries, we have implemented an events page on the site. Located at http://www.uwig.org/windevents.htm, this page is intended to serve as a clearinghouse of events focusing on wind integration topics and related events of interest. To keep the page manageable, we will only list events offered by government agencies or nonprofit organizations. To suggest an event, send e-mail to sandy@uwig.org.

UWIG Board of Directors

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